When the state sought to privatize health care for inmates, two unions filed suit, stalling it.

Undeterred, the Department of Corrections is pursuing privatization on a new front. The agency will seek bids to privatize all 20 of its work-release centers, including three each in Pinellas County and South Florida, even though the Legislature didn't mandate it.

The state has not made the privatization plan public.

The prison system says it has the authority under state law, but the Teamsters union that represents state correctional officers is threatening a lawsuit.